The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: [if this species flowers blue. The colour in your specimen is quite faded. I have C. coerulia from the Murray River near the South Australian border, but not yet really from a locality in your colony....

Document information

Physical location:

State Herbarium of South Australia, Plant Biodiversity Centre, Adelaide. 81.10.00b

Plant names

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Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Otto Tepper, 1881-10 [81.10.00b]. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id/81-10-00b>, accessed September 11, 2025

Tepper used record numbers more than once, and not all specimens are retained at MEL. However, the pattern of names and numbers in this list is consistent with specimens dated to 1881 in AVH; those dated to month show collections in September or October. Based on this, the manuscript is dated to October 1881 as the earliest it could have been written. This date is consistent with its position in the volume bound by Tepper which is mostly chronological. The numbering of the items suggests that it is linked to M to O. Tepper, October 1881 (in this edition as 81-10-00c) and may even be part of the same document.

Comments are translated and enclosed in square brackets below the relevant paragraph.

74. R Brown.

82. & 84. RBr.

75 & 77. , J. Hooker.

79. . L.

80. , RBr.!

falls diese Art blau blüht. Die Farbe ist in Ihren Exemplaren ganz verblichen. Ich habe C. coerulia vom Murray Flusse nahe der südaustr. Grenze, aber noch nicht wirklich von einem Standort in Ihrer Colonie.

[if this species flowers blue. The colour in your specimen is quite faded. I have C. coerulia from the Murray River near the South Australian border, but not yet really from a locality in your colony.]

87. , R.Br.

106. L

(ohne Frucht) oder eine nahe verwandte Art. Eingeführt.

[(without fruit) or a closely related species. Introduced.]

109. , Lindley

105 , Smith

Ohne Nummer , Withering

[Without number , Withering]

102. , Labillardière

101. , Thunberg

100. , Schlechtendal

99. , Smith.

98. Styphelia (Leucopogon) australis, RBr.

Ohne Nummer , F.v.M

Die Frucht ist kurz; G. latifolia kommt am Torrens vor.

[Without number , F.v.M

The fruit is short; G. latifolia occurs on the Torrens.]

" " Sieber

Stackhousia. Wie Sie aus den Synonymie ersehen, kommt S. linearif. (S. monogyna Labill theilweise, da die Frucht von S. spathulata mit der Pflanze von S. linearif auf den halben Platte abbildete) in mehreren Formen vor; ob einige derselben specifisch sind, werden Ihre und Anderen Beobachtungen im Felde lehren. Ich werde später die ganze Gruppe von Neuem nach erweiterten Material durcharbeiten; aber was in einem District constant erscheint, ändert oft in entfernten Gegenden übergehend ab. Darin aber liegt der Tact und die Erfahrung das ganz Beständige vom ganz Unbeständigen zu scheiden! — Varietäten haben wir ja auch unter den mannichfaltigsten Cultiv.pflanzen.

[As you see from the synonymy, S. linearif.

Stackhousia linariifolia?

occurs in several forms (S. monogyna Labill partly, since the fruit of S. spathulata delineated on the half plate with the plant of S. linearif.); your observations and those of others in the field will prove whether some of them are specific. I'll later work through the whole group anew from augmented material; but what appears constant in your district often varies in distant regions. However, herein lies the skill and experience to separate the completely constant from the completely inconstant! We also certainly have varieties among the most diverse cultivated plants.]

93 ♂

94. ? ohne Frucht

[without fruit]

145.

148.

146

Ich werde die genauen Arten-Namen dieser u anderer Moose geben, nachdem genaue Vergleiche angestellt sind; so ist es mit andere Pflanzen

[I'll give the correct species names of this and other mosses after precise comparisons are undertaken; it is so with other plants]

83. , RBrown.

86 , RBrown

76. , Roem & Schult.

75a , La Billard

88 , RBr.

81. , RBr.

neue Localität.

[new locality.]

89. , RBr.

90. Eine von den vielen Formen, welche ich schon 1848 als vereinigte.

[One of the many forms that I united as as early as 1848.]

91. , R.Br.

Eine Varietät mit längerem Kamm der Columna.

[A variety with longer ridge on the column.]

92. , R. Brown.

98. , Lindley nach Bentham

Ich habe diese Art als verschieden gehalten, u in meinem ersten gedruckten Catalog von Pflanzen v. Victoria (im Jahre 1853) nannte ich diese Art T. grandis.

[I have regarded this species as different and in my first printed catalogue of the plants of Victoria (in the year 1853)

B53.10.01.

I named this species T. grandis.]

119. , D.C.

107. Pultenaea

Aus der Gruppe von P largiflorens. Ohne nachherige ganz reife Frucht lässt sich über diese nichts Gewisses sagen.

[From the group of P largiflorens. Without subsequent completely ripe fruit nothing certain can be said about this.]

108. , Hooker.

138. , Vahl & 138

140. , F.v. M.

139. , F.v. M. ♂

141. l'Heritier var.

142. , R. Brown.

135. , F.v.M.

133 , Labillard.

Ohne N.

134 inserted in another hand.

, Schlecht. var

[Without number. , Schlecht. var ]

137. , Meissner.

136. . Lab.

höchst abänderlich.

[highly variable.]

128 Ohne Bl. u. ohne Fr.

[Without flowers and without fruit.]

123. , RBr.

122. , F.v. M.

124 , L.

127. , Bunge

129. , R.Br.

130 , RBr.

131. , RBr.

178. . L.

114. , Nees.

125.

Rutidosis pumilo?

, Bentham

118 , Labill.

113 , Linné

126 , Bentham

121 , R.Br.

120. , Linné.

132. , Cunn.

104. , Cass.

110 , R.Br. (var)

117. , J. Hooker.

112. , Gaud.

116. , Forster.

115 Thunb.

111 , D.C.

177 Lindley

183 , Smith

161. Opercularia

Die Arten bedürfen einer neuen Revision nach mehr angehäuften Material der letzten Jahren.

[The species require a new revision from more material accumulated in the last few years.]

162. , Bunge

(Grössere Form)

[(larger form)]

167. Lessing

ohne N.

163 inserted in another hand.

Frucht unreif.

[without number

Fruit unripe.]

164. D.C. & 165

166 Senecio odoratus Hornemann var hypoleucus

151. (ohne Frucht)

[(without fruit)]

153 Steril

[Sterile]

152 Poa (alt)

[(old)]

159. F.v.M.

154. (ohne Frucht)

[(without fruit)]

155 , Sonder

157. Brogniart

i.e. Brongniart.

156. , RBr

107. Pultenaea

Ich empfehle die localen Arten Ihrer fürderen Beobachtung, um besten ins Klare damit zu kommen

[I recommend the local species to your further observation in order best to come to a clear understanding of them]

… A.C.

160 ? Ohne Fr.

[Without fruit]

173. , R Brown!

Neu für Südaustr, aber nicht unerwarten. Theilen Sie gefälligst diesen Fund Hr. Prof. Tate mit, damit selbiger die Pflanze noch mit in seine Supplement-Liste zeitig genug aufnehmen kann.

[New for South Australia, but not unexpected. Kindly communicate this find to Prof. Tate, so that he can still have enough time to include this plant in his supplement list.

Tate (1882b), see p. 103.

]

203 L

204. , J. Hooker.

209.

142 Ajuga Australis RBr

191. , RBr

197. , RBr

205. , Schlecht.

206. Lindley

211 , Sieber

207. (ohne Frucht)

[(without fruit)]

Marked by Tepper: 'cupressiformis, Vent Dec. 81'.

210 Labill (jung)

[(young)]

182 Labill.

184 Lab. var

187. , F.v.M

189 Opercularia (ohne Fr)

188 , RBr

192 , Haworth

196. , RBr

190 Pultenaea (aus einer schwierigen Gruppe in welcher ohne reife (nachherige) Frucht die Arten nicht leicht zu unterscheiden sind.

[(from a difficult group, in which the species are not easy to differentiate without (subsequent) ripe fruit.]

193 , Lehmann

41. , Bentham

179 , FvM & 171

181. RBr

180 Labill

185 , Willd

172 L

168 , ohne Frucht Mag von den S. Austr Arten, die bisher notirt sind, verschieden sein. Selten?

[without fruit. May be different from the South Australian species that are noted up to now. Rare?]

169. FvM

Neue Localität!

[New locality!]

170 , RBr

174. L

176. Pultenaea

Bitte um die Frucht wenn solche reif.

[Request the fruit when they are ripe.]

227. Lindley

228 A. verticillata Willd

213 RBr

216. , Sm.

217. Lindley

222. Labill

grosse Form

[large form]

226 , W.

230 , RBr var

231 Euc. ( ohne Frucht!)

[(without fruit!)]

232 Euc. Leucoxylon FvM

gemischt mit einer andern Art.

[mixed with another species.]

234 Juncus (ohne Frucht)

[(without fruit)]

198 . L

199 L

200 Grisebach

201 , AGr

202. R & S.

235. Linné.

(eingeführt)

[(introduced)]

51 , Labillard.

236. , Willdenow

240 (ohne Frucht

[(without fruit]

238 , Bunge.

239. D.C.

208 RBr

(kleinere Form)

[(smaller form)]

214 L

Ich erkenne nur 1 für ganz Australien an.

[I acknowledge only one for the whole of Australia.]

M gives the rationale for this decision in B64.10.02, pp. 15-16, as his prime example in his arguments against Darwinian speciation which he saw as mistakenly viewing varieties as subspecies whereas M saw them as being responses to environmental variables (see Lucas (2010)).

215 Lab.

41. Benth.

218 Smith

229 , A.C.

220 Pimelea curviflora RBr

var micrantha.

219. RBr

221. RBr?

224 A.C. & 225